Reuters, AFP
Washington



President Barack Obama will meet with leaders from Gulf Co-operation Council countries at the White House on May 13 and at the presidential retreat at Camp David, Maryland the following day, the White House said yesterday.
The summit, to include leaders from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, will be an opportunity for Obama to discuss concerns about the deal reached with Iran on its nuclear programme, as well as the military campaign in Yemen by the Gulf countries.
The meeting was announced in early April by Obama, who is seeking to reassure Gulf states following a framework accord reached on Tehran’s contested nuclear programme earlier in the month.
President Obama yesterday urged Gulf nations to help calm the political situation in Libya, saying that outside military action would not be enough to help reduce tensions in the war-ravaged North African country.
After a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi at the White House, Obama said a political solution was needed in the oil-rich Mediterranean state, where two rival governments are fighting for control.
“We’re going to have to encourage some of the countries inside of the Gulf who have, I think, influence over the various factions inside of Libya to be more co-operative themselves,” Obama told reporters.
Obama noted Islamic State militants, who have taken over large parts of Syria and Iraq, have also been active in Libya. The US is leading a coalition fighting the group in Iraq and Syria.
“We are consistently looking where terrorist threats might emanate, and Libya, obviously, is an area of great concern,” Obama said. He compared the situation to Somalia, where Washington has carried out drone strikes against suspected Al Qaeda militants.
“We will not be able to solve the problem with just a few drone strikes or a few military operations,” he said, adding that he and Renzi did not discuss the possible sale of US drones to Italy, which some Italian media reports had expected.
The US, Italy and their allies must combine counterterrorism efforts with a push for a political resolution, Obama said.
“The answer ultimately is to have a government that can control its own borders and work with us. That’s going to take some time,” he said.
Renzi agreed it was up to the Libyans themselves. “Peace in Libya: either the tribes do this, or no one is going to do this,” he said.  
In the same press conference, Obama said he was not surprised that Russia had lifted its ban on supplying missile systems to Iran, despite the move coming at the height of intense international talks on Tehran’s nuclear programme.
President Vladimir Putin, whose own government is under strict economic sanctions for Russia’s involvement in unrest in Crimea and Ukraine, has removed the ban on supplying Iran with sophisticated S-300 air defence missile systems.
The move triggered concern that such sales could embolden Tehran in talks with the West on curbing its nuclear programme.
“I’m not surprised, given some of the deterioration in the relationship between Russia and the United States, and the fact that their economy’s under strain and this was a substantial sale,” Obama said.
“This is a sale that was slated to happen in 2009, when I first met with then-prime minister Putin. They actually stopped the sale, paused or suspended the sale, at our request,” Obama added.
“And I’m frankly surprised that it held this long, given that they were not prohibited by sanctions from selling these defensive weapons.”


Related Story